


Vanishing Act

by Lily_Rhonin



Series: Gay, but K/DA [6]
Category: K/DA - Fandom
Genre: #give Eve feelings, Ahri was not always confident but Eve stans her, Eve is not a superbitch, F/F, K/DA, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 01:11:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17437028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Rhonin/pseuds/Lily_Rhonin
Summary: Ahri realizes she has lost her will to continue as an idol under a oppressive management. So she calls her oldest friend, Eve, to say goodbye.Can be read as stand alone or after any part of Gay, but K/DA





	Vanishing Act

**Author's Note:**

> So I still have some more smut planned (and in the works) but I really wanted to indulge in some stuff I had sitting in the back of my head so prepare for fluff as I get that out of my system >:D It's just some short stuff, I promise, then back to real horny hours.
> 
> Eve's first appearance here is based on her original K/DA concept art (http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/K/DA?file=Evelynn_POPSTARS_concept_10.jpg#Gallery)
> 
> I have a major crush on it and wanted to throw it in the storyline somewhere =D  
> Anyway, thank you for reading and as always, I appreciate all comments, even if I don't respond, I read all of them, I'm just a shy nerd. So thank you for your patience and continued support!

The sound of heavy breathing was all that could be heard for the split second it took for the crowd to begin cheering hysterically, the energy high, the crowd barely visible behind the glaring stage lights and backlight. A lone woman grinned and waved, sandy fox-like ears flicking and sending the crowd into another round of cheering and sounds of laud.

 

_ They love me. _

 

Ahri gave a bow; she thanked them, in Korean, then slipped off stage as the lights dimmed. Relief. It was darker back here, but only a little, and the hustle and bustle of stage crew and personnel almost made the difference inconsequential. 

 

“Ahri! Let me take that for you!”   
“Ahri! The dressing room is waiting, here; we’ll take that off for you.”

“Ahri!”   
“Ahri!”

“Ah-”

 

Her name became meaningless, worthless noise pounding on her eardrums as she smiled stiffly, hands belonging to people she didn't even know brushing her skin, removing her jacket and mic, taking her hat for her.

 

Fingers brushed her tail.

 

She whipped around, barely containing an annoyed hiss. 

“Please. Do not touch my- don’t touch me, please.” her voice was broken as she struggled to find the right English words, making her words and face seem even more formidable.

 

A startled stage hand backpedaled, eyes wide, and gave a nervous bow. “Sorry, Ms. Ahri.”

 

The gumiho sighed. She felt...bad. She shouldn’t have snapped. It was the same at each new venue. They didn’t know better. Most people thought her tails and ears were elaborate props. This world knew magic, and yet, it often chose not to acknowledge it. Those that did, and those who wielded it, maintained a separate world of their own.

 

Turning, she escaped her circle of assistants and made her way to the dressing room. She just wanted out of these stiff garments.

 

_ Clothes are weird. They feel so alien...even still. _

 

She was down to a crop top undershirt and the shorts of her performance outfit when the door opened.

 

She didn’t need to turn around. She didn’t want to. She held her breath as the footsteps approaching her stopped. She could feel him behind her. Studying her with cold eyes. She cleared her throat.

 

“Swain.”

 

The person behind her remained silent for a moment; then the was the soft  _ whuff _ of a cushion being decompressed as the person sat down.

 

“You did not seem as lively as usual tonight, Ahri.”

A low, gravely voice sounded, flat and monotone, not rising in pitch or amplitude. 

 

Sighing, Ahri turned around. Her movements were slow and labored, as if weights were tied to her limbs. “I’m just tired.”

 

“From what, pray tell? You’ve been doing nothing but prancing across a stage. And do not lie to me, this isn’t toure fatigue. We took an almost year long hiatus expressly so that you could ‘rest up’ after your last concert.”

 

Frigid orange-red eyes met honey-gold, before Ahri quickly looked away. “Its…”

“Speak up, fox.”

 

Ahri’s ears flattened, slitted pupils narrowing to the point they were almost unseen. “I am tired, Swain. Why is that so hard for you to understand? I find no inspiration in this any more.”

 

Swain regarded her silently, his face unreadable.

 

“I don’t...I don’t want to do this anymore.”

 

The main in the chair simply stared. He was quiet, uttering not a word as he waited, staring Ahri down until she was stepping back.

 

Finally, he spoke.

 

“You are young, and I understand youth is foolishness. But listen to me, and listen well. You are only valuable now. You will get older, and then you will be nothing.”

 

He stood up, pulling his sleeve back from his left arm and adjust the prosthetic that revealed itself as if it was merely a bother.

 

“I’ve seen it time and again. Throw away what you have now, and you’ll find nothing better. I’ve brought you so far, much too far for you to imply that this is simply an inconvenience for you.” his voice ended in a growl that sent goosebumps raising across Ahri’s arms as she looked away.

 

_ Nothing. He thinks I’ll be nothing. _

 

…. _ am I? Will I be? _

 

She clenched her fists. No. That wasn’t true. She met his gaze cooly, her jaw stiff. “That’s not true. I’ve...I’ve done really well so far. There’s no reason I can’t again.”

 

Swain cocked his head ever so slightly. “You doubt me?”

And then he laughed.

“You’re a foolish girl for one who’s seen so much. Tell me, what about your persona survives the next ten years?”

 

He was smiling now, almost sympathetically. “When you are 30? What do you plan to do then?”

 

“I...I don’t know, but I have fans.”   
“What are they going to stick around for? When you lose your edge?”

 

Ahri was silent.

She didn’t know.

 

Swain simply nodded. “Well, we have a tight schedule to stick to here. When you’re done pouting, I believe we have a meeting with the label tomorrow. Obviously you just need to be there to  _ be there _ , but nevertheless, I expect to see you.”

 

He turned, and left.

  
  


Ahri adjusted her sunglasses as she hid behind her menu on the patio of the cafe, peeking out from behind it every few seconds to see if her date would actually be on time. So when she glanced down at her phone, and glanced back up, she nearly fell out of her chair when she realized the metal patio chair across from her was now occupied by another woman.

 

The woman was rather attractive. Gorgeous, actually. Plump lips, angular face and deep, almost unsettling gold eyes, and a shock of short-cut magenta hair that swept into a stylized fan of hair, almost like a mohawk. She was dressed in a purple longcoat with a fur trim around the neck, covering whatever she was wearing beneath.

 

“Evelynn!” Ahri squeaked, trying to right herself quickly, slamming her menu down as she struggled to find her seat.

 

Evelynn smiled from behind the hot pink aviators she donned, watching the gumiho try to recover herself. 

 

“Ahri. Didn't you tell me you had a meeting today?”

 

“I do! I do! I mean, well, I did.”

 

Ahri blinked, face flushing red. How did Evelynn have this strange ability to totally ruin her composure just by fucking smiling at her? The model and singer was probably the most attractive woman Ahri had ever met; and she had had plenty of fangirls throw themselves at her over her short career as a pop star. That...probably didn’t help.

 

“So?”

 

Ahri cleared her throat. She was temporarily relieved from answering as a waiter paused at their table, dropping off two glasses of water. But as soon as he left, Evelynn’s eyes were focused on the silent fox again.

 

Ahri knew she wouldn’t stop staring until she answered.

 

“Eve….I’m leaving!” She blurted it out before she even had the chance  to even think about what she was saying.

 

Eve blinked, seemingly unbothered by this confession. “I thought you wanted to stay here in Paris for awhile, is your tour over already?”

 

Ahri stared. “I...wha- no, that’s now what I meant.”

She sighed and started fiddling with the menu again, tearing restlessly at the edges. “I need to disappear for awhile. I can’t do this anymore.”

 

“Do what?”   
  
“This…” Ahri gestured helplessly as she searched for the words she needed to explain her predicament. “Like...all of this! The idol stuff! I, it’s not like...I love my fans but I can’t take another minute with Swain breathing down my back! I can't…”

 

Ahri bit her lip, trying not to cry. How foolish would Eve think she was if she started tearing up now? “I can’t even breathe without his permission. I can’t even breathe  _ right. _ ”

 

Eve perceived her quietly, and then reached up and removed her shades, the gentleness that Ahri found in her eyes taking her by surprise. 

 

“I’ve been saying for a long time you never should have signed on with him, gumiho. Did he...did he do something?”

 

Ahri stared, then shook her head quickly. “N-no, nothing like that! I mean, not really, it’s just…”

She shifted in her chair, taking a quick sip of her water. “Last night, after my concert, he, he….he said...basically said I would be nothing without him...that I, like, was going to be worthless in 10 years because I’m getting older.”

 

The fox dipped her head as Eve’s gaze turned scalding. “He said  _ what? _ ”

“I’m...I’m...I don’t know.”

 

She heard the sound of nails on glass as Eve gripped her water. Worried she would shatter it, her hands shot out and grabbed Eve’s. “Please don’t be too mad-”

 

“Why would I  _ not _ be mad?” Evelynn’s voice came as a hiss, her eyes glowing like flame. “Mad doesn’t even begin to describe this, actually. I will kill that bastard.”

 

“Eve, no. He’s not worth it. Look, I’m just telling you why...why I need to leave. I’m saying goodbye for now. I skipped the meeting to come see you because I knew he’d be busy with that for awhile, but he’s gonna come looking for me soon.”

 

“Come stay with me.”

“I don’t want to drag you into this. Look, I’m going home for awhile. I know...I know where to go, okay? I’ll be fine.”

 

Eve stared at her silently, then gave her a tiny nod. “Okay.”

“Okay?”   
“I trust you.”

 

She sat back, her hands slipping out of Ahri’s as they folded themselves together. “But please call me sometimes.”   
  
It wasn’t a request, or an appeal. It was a demand, an order, and Ahri could only smile and nod. “I will, I promise.”

  
  


It had been years since Evelynn had actually seen Ahri in person. She had called, but, true to word, she had otherwise vanished. 

 

Little to Eve’s surprise, Jericho Swain had called her. Lots. He was angry, and somehow had pinned Ahri’s disappearance on Eve. Each time he had called, it took away a little more of Eve’s humanity as she battled with the urge to track Swain down and kill him. 

Make him just...disappear, like he had made Ahri do.

 

But Ahri had been right.

 

He wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t even worth feeding on, and that was the disappointing part.

 

Eventually though, he had stopped calling. Stopped emailing. He had more than likely found some other poor upcoming teen star to torment, but Eve didn’t really care.

 

As much as she hated the man, she wasn’t really concerned with his doings, especially now that Ahri was no longer in the picture. 

 

It wasn’t really like she had a moral high ground to stand on.

 

But as he stopped calling, so, too, did Ahri. It didn’t surprise Evelynn all that much. All the same, she couldn’t say she wasn’t disappointed. So when her phone lit up with Ahri’s name at a meeting she’d been invited to with several designers, she was more than a little surprised.

 

It had been almost two years since she’d heard from the girl, and she excused herself quickly to step out of the conference room; leaving the designers a little flustered.

 

“Gumiho. It’s been awhile.”

“Eve!” Ahri sounded happy, and relaxed. “It has! I’m...I’m sorry about that.”   
“It’s fine, I know you needed your time. How are you doing?”

“Are you busy?”

“Well, I was in a meeting.”

“Oh! Sorry about that. Look, I’ll call you later, okay? Just shoot me a text when you’re free, alright? I want to talk.”

“Okay. Is everything fine?”   
“It’s more than fine- I’ll tell you everything later! I don’t want you to miss anything important.”   
“Okay.” Eve blinked, mildly caught off guard. The last time she had spoken to Ahri, she had sounded so nervous and unsure of herself. Almost as if human contact was painful. As if...she was regressing to a feral form of herself that Evelynn hadn’t seen in a long time. A time before Ahri had ever become famous. She nodded, unseen. 

 

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later, then.”   
“Bye!”

Eve hung up and stared down the hallway for a minute, her lips pursed in thought. What was that girl up to now? Part of Evelynn was relieved. Ahri sounded refreshed and...alive. Not the skittish and bowed creature she had last seen at the cafe all those years back. But If Evelynn knew Ahri, and she had for a long time...she was up to something, and Evelynn wanted to know what.

 

Ahri was definitely up to something.

When Evelynn picked her up from the airport, she was practically bursting with energy, and she nearly bowled Evelynn over in an exuberant hug. 

“Eve! Oh my god, we have so much to catch up on!”

 

Eve stepped back, amused, as Ahri bounced around her. “I started my own cosmetics and I got a house and -”   
“Whoa there.” Eve grabbed her hand as the exited the terminal, heading towards the parking garage where she had left one of her many expensive sports cars. “Why don’t we go out to eat or something, and we can talk over dinner?”   
  
“I’m not hungry. Do you even eat human food still? Why don’t we go to your place?”   
Eve suppressed a sigh at Ahri’s rapid-fire questions. “Okay, and yes. If you’re sure.”

“Yeah I’m-”   
“Ahri.”

“Yes.”   
“Calm down for a second.” Evelynn was holding Ahri by her shoulders at arm’s length. She looked the former pop-star up and down slowly, taking her in entirely. Ahri was dressed in rather comfortable, but fashionable comfort clothes- joggers, slip ons, and a relaxed tee, fit for a plane ride, and looked entirely at ease, albite hyper. “Let’s get home, and then we can talk, okay?”

  
  


When they arrived at Evelynn’s apartment, a rather expensive-interiored lease she used whenever she came to London, it was like the floodgates opened. Eve managed to get Ahri seated, and brought her tea- barely. As she sat down on the black sectional across from her, she began talking instantly.

 

“So what’ve you been up to the past few years?” Eve began- it was a needless start to the conversation, as Ahri would have begun talking anyways.    
  
“Honestly, I don't...I don’t remember half of it.” her face was earnest, bringing the teacup to her face and taking a sip before continuing. “I really don't!” her voice rose in pitch as Eve cocked an eyebrow at her explanation. “I just...after I’d been back for a year….I feel like time skipped, there was a time I don’t remember. But after that I just remember feeling….I don’t even know how to describe it. Anyway!”

 

She sat forward. “I started this cosmetic brand that’s been going really well, it’s called FOXY! Like you used to call me when we were kids.”

“That was a long time ago.” Eve chuffed, remembering when she and Ahri had first decided to play the whole human shenanigan. It still felt weird, but Ahri….well, as long as Ahri was here. Ahri shrugged. “Yeah, it was. But I actually came here because I have an idea.”

 

Eve held her friend’s gaze calmly. “I had a feeling you were up to something, that you just suddenly reappeared.”

“I had an idea!”

“I garnered that.” Eve leaned forward, setting her now empty teacup on the coffee table. “Well? Out with it.”

 

“So…” Ahri took another sip of hers; she’d been talking so much she had scarcely finished half of it. “I...you know, when I left, I wasn’t really...I didn’t ever want to stop singing. You know that, right?”

 

Eve shrugged. “No, to be honest, not really. When you took off, you seemed pretty burnt out. It seemed like you needed a break from music just as much from Jericho.”

 

Ahri frowned, pursing her lips. “Yeah, I did. But I didn’t ever want to stop singing forever. I just...I couldn’t keep going with that. That persona, the label. It was suffocating.”

 

Eve hummed. What was Ahri getting at?

 

“But I’m back...and I want to make a new debut. With a new image. With new people at my side. I want to be independent, and I can be now. I have my own money, I’m not tied to a label.”

 

“And?”

 

“And...Eve. I want to start a group.”

 

Eve stared at her blankly. “What?”

 

“I want to start a new group! Like, y’know, an idol group!”

“Ooooo-kay. Gumiho…” Eve leaned back, resting her head on a balled fist.

“I don’t want to rain on your parade, but do you know half of what that requires? Especially without a label. That’s a lot of money, and you’re going to be on the hunt for talent- that you can get along with, emotionally and creatively.”

 

“I know! Which is great, because I already had one member in mind!”

“...who?”   
“You!”

 

Eve stared at Ahri for a long minute before sighing. “Ahri, I love you, but you know me...I’ve done groups and bands and stuff before, it never worked out for me. You’re one of my oldest friends.” Eve felt her heart flutter in her chest madly as she uttered the next few words. “I don’t want to ruin it over something like this. It’s….”

 

Ahri breathed slowly. “I knew you would say that. But look….if you were to join me...we don’t have a label, we’re not on a time frame. We can take our time in looking. And if it doesn’t work...nobody will know the wiser. We’ll just say we’re collaborating or something.”

 

Evelynn groaned. Ahri was not going to let this go. Once she had her mind set on something, she kept going until she got it. Which, admittedly, was an admirable trait of hers. Annoying, but admirable. 

 

“Look, I’ll think about it, okay? I’m not saying no.”

“Thank you Eve!”   
“Don’t thank me quite yet.” the diva leaned forward again, resting her elbows on her knees. “I’m not saying I’ll agree either. Before  _ anything _ , I want you to do some things.” she met the kumiho’s gaze steadily. “You’re going to need to find a label of  _ some kind _ to back this. Not sign on, just say if we can get something rolling, they’ll back us up. And you need to decide if you can actually foot this, or if you’re gonna need help. I’m willing to help, but only if you’re serious. Alright?”

 

Ahri purred, her face softening into a smile. “I knew I could count on you Eve, thank you. I’m serious, you deserve at least that for your advice.”

Eve nodded, smiling. If Ahri was serious about this, she’d see those stipulations through. Standing, Eve crossed the space between them, picking Ahri’s teacup up, which was finally empty. 

 

Leaning down, she gave Ahri a light, quick kiss, pulling back and giving her a wink. “It’s good to have you back, by the way.”

  
  
  



End file.
